THE BOOK
ISLAM AS THE “ABSOLUTE”?
‘Surely the (true) religion with Allah is Islama. And those who were given
the Book differed only after knowledge had come to them, out of envy
among themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the messages of Allah -–
Allah is indeed Quick at reckoning.’
(3:19. M.M. Ali).
Ali’s commentary of 3:19a:
‘According to the Holy Qur’an, Islam was the religion of all the prophets. It is particularly mentioned as the religion of Abraham several times, and on one occasion the Israelite prophets who followed Moses are spoken of as the prophets who submitted themselves (to Allah)... Not only is Islam the religion of every prophet, but, according to the Holy Qur’an, it is also the natural religion of man, as in 30:30 it is described as being “the nature made by Allah in which He has created men”. This is corroborated by the saying of the Prophet: “Every child is born in Islam: it is his parents who make him a Jew or a Christian...”
The word Islam does not only signify submission, it also signifies entering into peace, from aslama, meaning he entered into peace. In fact, the idea of peace is the dominant idea in Islam, and the goal to which Islam leads is called the abode of peace...’
The idea of “entering into peace” may well represent much of what Islam believes it teaches. For much of the rest of the world in the 21st century, however, it certainly appears that the way in which increasing numbers of you in the Muslim world seem to want to attain that desired state is to “hack your way there” with sword and maim with explosives. The real-time Jihad today simply reinforces the centuries-old belief that Islam is actually a “Religion of conquest”.
In 3:19 a, Ali says; “...on one occasion the Israelite prophets who followed Moses are spoken of as ’the prophets who submitted themselves’ to Allah.” Assuredly, prophets who follow the obvious path of right and Truth will naturally submit and commit to A/The Creator.
What is more important; to bicker or pontificate over a name, or to offer reverence and worship in recognition of the existence of a Higher Being -– even if the Name is not yet revealed? Depending on one’s level of “spiritual” maturity; if the degree of “knowing-insight” has not yet developed sufficiently to perceive the Highest of Names; appropriate is the commensurate and beautifully-simple line from DESIDERATA:
“Therefore; be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.”
Notwithstanding that overarching and quite logical concept, the whole thrust of Islam seems to unequivocally declare that; as it considers itself to be the final religion for all on earth, the natural extrapolation of that notion by Muslims is that there can only be just one name for “The Creator”, and that name is Allah.
Of course, if a Name for God has been given to a particular people at a certain point in their history, then that is “The Name” they will obviously use, for it provides a framework or ‘anchor’ around which may be established a connection for worship, so one name does not necessarily ‘fit all’. Different peoples of different languages will obviously “receive” a name different to Allah; that is just plain and simple logic.
To further clarify this important point: In many places in the Koran, much is written about Moses the Law-Giver and his great mission. Despite that clear reality, commentary by Koranic scholars on this very subject seems to carefully steer the narrative of Moses away from the Bible. Why should that be? In the Islamic view, does the “Law of Moses” hold a lesser place than the ‘Law’ in the Koran?
For: “Truth is Truth, irrespective of where it comes from!”
Muslim scholars, therefore, should not be averse to embracing any especial insights Moses left us just because it comes from the Bible. Referred to as “The Book” throughout the Koran, and Christians and Israelites derogatorily as ‘People of the Book', the denigration of The Bible by the religion of Islam has, historically, clearly been a key factor that has now set-in rock-solid concrete the “conviction” among Muslims that their Book is greater than any other Book. Yet, as we state again: Truth is Truth, whether it comes from two humanly-exalted books, or “from out of the mouths of babes”.
For example, the Arabic name for God is Allah, which is wonderful for the immense respect, reverence and worship accorded that Name by followers of Islam. But what if another Name is Proclaimed, and that name is proclaimed long before the time of Muhammad’s association with Gabriel --- and from the Greatest Source of all --– and that name is not Allah?
What then? From the Biblical account in Exodus 3:13-14 in Fenton’s Bible; (Bold Capitalisation his, underlining mine):
‘Then Moses said to GOD; “Supposing I should go to the children of Israel, and should say to them, ‘The GOD of your fathers has sent me to you’, and they should ask me, ‘What is His name?’ -– what am I to say to them?” When GOD responded to Moses, “I AM WHAT I AM!” Therefore say, ‘I AM’ has sent me to you.” And GOD further spoke to Moses; “You shall say this to the children of Israel; -- The EVER-LIVING GOD of your forefathers; --- the GOD of Abraham, and the GOD of Isaac, and the GOD of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is MY Name from Eternity, and I remember this from generation to generation. ...”
Predicated on that obviously spiritually-powerful record: Has the religion of Islam and its “scholars” and followers negated, excised, expunged, deleted; from all human thought and word, The Name, “I AM”?
Recorded as being received by Moses on Mt Sinai, the very fact that The VOICE proclaimed “I AM” unequivocally reveals IT to be from:
The Very Source of All Life -- THE ALMIGHTY – for no other could so proclaim.
Islam names HIM, as do I:----- THE LORD OF ALL THE WORLDS!
Did the messenger, Gabriel, say to Muhammed that the name -– “I AM” --- was no longer to be spoken, that it be “replaced”? Did Muhammad? Would either of them dare to make such a momentous change? The Koran tells us the Prophet Muhammad was the most perfect servant of Allah.
Surely he, of all servants, would therefore preserve the very name “I AM” --- the very same Who directed Moses and the Israelites to never forget HIS Name --- long before the advent of Muhammad. Such a thing would seem to be absolutely unthinkable on his part.
So, if it is written in Islamic religious Law or even lore that the name Allah was and is the only Name and Title that global humanity must use, then M.M. Ali’s interpretation of –
- “...on one occasion the Israelite prophets who followed Moses are spoken of as the prophets who submitted themselves to Allah” ---
--- forcefully clashes with Scripture 3:13-14 from Exodus, for the Israelite prophets were directed to remember the name of their God as The “I AM!”
We must also consider the line of descent from the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob --- to Moses. For simple logic surely tells us that if Moses was ‘ordered’ to preserve the Name of THE LORD as “I AM”, then it logically follows that those great patriarchs who came before him would not have used the name Allah in place of.
Is it all just in a name? Most assuredly, yes. For The Name, “I AM”, as the Name of GOD, needs to be understood as being Higher even than The Divine Realm, above which HE stands! How do we know this? Simple: It is written in The All-Truth of The Spirit of Truth!
The Word that The Spirit of Truth uses in His All-Truth in this regard is UNSUBSTANTIATE: A concept and reality which will forever be beyond our human understanding!
‘And when his Lord tried Abraham with certain commands he fulfilled them. He said: Surely I will make thee a leader of men. (Abraham) said: And of my offspring? My covenant does not include the wrongdoers, said He.a’ (2:124 Ali).
Ali’s commentary on Verse 124a:
‘The first part of the verse relates that Abraham was made spiritual leader of men because he was found perfect in fulfilling the Divine commandments. As a spiritual leader of the great nations of the world, that patriarch occupies a unique position among religious personalities. Having discussed at length that a prophet from the Ishmaelites had come in accordance with the prophecies of the Israelite prophets, the Holy Qur’an now proceeds to show that even the covenant with their great ancestor Abraham necessitated the appearance of a prophet in Arabia.’
From that single verse alone, Ali devotes a whole page of fine print to ‘anchor’ Abraham’s place in the Koran and thereby an asserted, ‘irrefutable’ place in Islam. In the context of our current discussion, Ali, perhaps inadvertently, hits on exactly the key point of what we are saying, for that is shown in his verse of 2:124 and in his commentary on the same in the respective references to where Abraham “fulfilled” certain commands, and where he was found perfect in “fulfilling the Divine commandments”. And what is the greatest of all Commandments?
It is The First Commandment; for It begins with “I AM”!
Everything that ever was, is now, or will ever be --- but, however, resonating in and with Perfect Love and Justice --- is through, and under, the aegis of that Prime Commandment, including Muhammad and his true mission. That is a crucial point that all of humanity, Muslims especially, should really strive to understand.
Ali continues his dissertation on the Old Testament Patriarchs in further verses:
‘And We gave him Isaac; and Jacob, a son’s son. And We made (them) all good. And We made them leaders who guided (people) by Our command, and We revealed to them the doing of good and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of alms, and Us (alone) they served:’ (21:72- 73. Ali).
‘And the same did Abraham enjoin on his sons, and (so did) Jacob: O my sons, surely Allah has chosen for you (this) religion, so die not unless you are submitting ones. a Or were you witnesses when death visited Jacob, when he said to his sons: What will you serve after me?. They said: We shall serve thy God and the God of thy fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac, one God only, and to Him do we submit.’ (2:132-133. Ali).
Say: We believe in Allah and (in) that which has been revealed to us and (in) that which was revealed to Abraham, and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and (in) that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and (in) that which was given to the prophets from their Lord, we do not make any distinction between any of them and to Him do we submit.a ‘(2:136. Ali).
Ali’s commentary on Verse 136a:
‘This shows the cosmopolitan nature of a Muslim’s belief. Not only is belief in the great prophets of Israel an article of faith with a Muslim, but the words that which was given to the prophets from their Lord make the Muslim conception of belief in prophets as wide as the world. And it should be noted that this broad conception was promulgated at a time when the Jews and the Christians were exerting themselves to the utmost against the new faith.’
Despite attempting to be expansive and magnanimous to other belief- systems; vis-à-vis, ‘that which was given to the prophets from their lord’, and ‘Muslim belief in prophets as wide as the world’, Ali is not convincing here, for in virtually all of his very extensive, obviously very loyal, commentary, he supports Islam and the global Muslim world by laying claim to everything that even approximates any kind of historical-religious aspect that might offer something to Islam --- even if it be just tenuously connected.
From the Christian perspective, umbrage would surely be taken at Ali’s inference that even Jesus –- Who came as The Son of God and Who therefore would have to be Complete in the “knowledge of and in GOD, THE CREATOR” --- would somehow need to be instructed by mere mortals.
For example: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot yet bear it ...” (John 16...) In other words, the Disciples were not “advanced” enough in their ability to fully grasp a level of knowledge never before taught in their religion --- which Jesus brought to them. That is why He then said that One in the future would bring The All-Truth, and that they were forewarned to watch for that time.
Reader, think on this very, very deeply, and if you are sufficiently spiritually-awake, you will be shown a revelation that should change the very way you think. For the One to Come would possess that All-Truth as an inherent part of Him, and not something that would be taught to Him. In any case, by whom, human beings? It is a spiritually-dangerous and rather foolish line of thinking.
So, for global Muslims, under the aegis of the very LAW that Islam claims to promote and live by; despite every attempt in reasoned logic culled from many different reference sources to offer, to “reveal”, a more rational explanation to some Koranic verses that simply defy rationality, it is eminently clear --- thus far --- that nothing said or shown could ever change the “foremost- entitlement” claim of Islam that it, alone, is the “right religion” for every human being on earth. That means from even before the time of Muhammad’s calling to Prophethood around 1400 years ago, all the way to the present and forever into the future.
An absolute faith, belief, religion or doctrine that will not tolerate discussion or debate in the mind-set of the scholars and translators all the way down to “rank-and file-faithful” logically means that every claim, every subject, every message and every miniscule nuance of each and every single verse must logically fall within the absolute parameters that such a belief visibly produces -– which, ironically, is the “form” within which that religion is actually “imprisoned”.
As a rational consequence, the very parameters of the religion must be claimed as being absolute too, and therefore not even the tiniest part can ever step outside of it. In other words, it is forever locked into a “box” with no chance of a breath of fresh air ever reaching it, so no discussion, no deviation, and no consideration for any other point of view.
The valid extrapolation of such an inflexible position means only one thing: The religion is as the scholars, translators and the faithful say it is, and therefore means -– for the faithful of Islam --- that it stands forever: A monumental claim, which consequently means that --- at all costs --- the religion cannot possibly permit anything else.
Yet, if even the tiniest crack should appear in the carefully constructed and nurtured walls that represent the religion, or a call from some Muslims for moderation and even change begin to appear -– as once occurred in Islamic history but which was brutally suppressed -– [we may detail this fact in a later relevant Discourse] then it is not as absolute as is written or believed to be. What, then, must the eventual outcome be? By virtue of its claimed origin, Muslims will naturally say it cannot possibly happen.
Nonetheless, just the tiniest crack of even a hint of an error anywhere in the religion will mean that Koranic scholars must address that point honestly and have the spiritual greatness to accept whatever that reality is. If not, then the main supporting pillars of the Muslim faith would be seen to be nothing more than pride and ego striving to maintain a doctrine that was never as claimed. The tiny “crack” will then begin to widen further, to a point where the whole must suffer a catastrophic collapse.
Then the horror of disbelief: “No it cannot be. We can’t be wrong, that is impossible, for we have always believed.” Should that happen: Then, the ‘great wailing and gnashing of teeth...’
The very nature of religion means that all suffer from the same “affliction”. Whilst all carry elements of “religious righteousness”, arrogance and ego, and will invariably, somewhere in the dogma, harbour a “fear factor” to varying degrees; none have true and real “courage”. By that we mean the courage to admit that the “dogma” may be flawed, may be wrong, or may be terribly wrong; to then let it go and embrace a more “spiritually-correct” Teaching.
In the final analysis: Despite every single belief-system on earth believing itself to be “in the right religious space”, all are subject to a crushing end, for only Pure Truth will emerge from the final, presently-fermenting, conflict. Islam ‘sacrosanctly’ believes it holds that Pure Truth, and will continue to do so into the new time, as promised in their Koran. There is an interesting Bible Scripture from Jesus –- Islam’s “son of Mary”:
“Thus it will be at the completion of the period. The angels will pick out and carry away the wicked from the midst of the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of the fire: There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Do you,” asked Jesus, “understand all this?” “Yes, Lord,” was their reply. (Matt 13:49-51).
The whole world clearly sees that Islam is so “locked in stone” that Muslims in general, but Koranic scholars in particular --- especially those scholars who extol every part of the faith as absolute perfection --- would not, indeed could not, ever conceive of such a possibility. Yet: So reads the ancient proverb:
“That which does not bend will eventually break!”
Our unfolding journey will take us into and through many Koranic Verses and equivalent Biblical and Judaic Scripture. Interspersed throughout in support will be historical commentary, philosophical dissertations, and much contemporary science. However, the primary Source of knowledge we will employ to “enlighten” you, individual reader, will be The Spirit of Truth’s actual All-Truth --- now on earth. So why would we need any other Source?
We will simply write what we are enjoined to by our “Guides Unseen”, and “let the chips fall where they will”. You, reader, of course are free to decide what you will! From the Bible to Islam, the great and final choice:
“I set before you life and death. Therefore choose life that you and your posterity may live”.
We hope that as a result of this Work we have “set before you”, you will awaken and become “truly seeing” --- and thus “spiritually alive”!
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